


5cm/s

by Manticoreship



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Football, Games, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-30
Updated: 2014-11-03
Packaged: 2018-02-19 08:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2382071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manticoreship/pseuds/Manticoreship
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mats Hummels is a high skilled gamer, and one day he meet a player as good as him. It freaks him out, but at the end of the day, they cannot forget each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Playing With Emotions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [misterywhitegirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/misterywhitegirl/gifts).



> 1 - English is not my first language (:  
> 2 - I'm working with a prompt from LiveJournal. This one - http://thesilverwitch.livejournal.com/31896.html?thread=472984#t472984

_Marco Reus started running forward extremely fast. He kept the ball next to his feet, despite the speed or the other player's tackles. They were at the last minute in the injury time, and that was probably the last play in the game. When Reus got close enough to kick, he didn't think twice. And, like many others Marco's kicks, it was a goal. An incredible goal. And amaz..._

"Oh my god, this goal is an instant recording!" 

Mats Hummels is not like the average guy at his age. He likes books, games and music. He also is addicted to videogames and is a die hard football fan. Yeah, you probably know many guys with the same interests, but Mats is like a nerd for all this things. He could tell you every single song by Led Zeppelin in chronologic order. He also could indicate the best book to buy in a wallwide bookshelf - because he has read all of them -. But the two biggest Hummels' passions were still videogames and Borussia Dortmund. Specially when both of them were together. And, like in any other thing he cared about, he was an expert in those things. 

"Okay, now I'm uploading this to Youtube" He was testing the new features of his brand new PS4 and FIFA 15. The share button, a convinience that manage to upload a video or a picture saved in your console to any social media, was Hummels heaven. He liked to share his best plays and screenshots to his friends, just to envy them. It was a secret pleasure he had. 

But well, sharing things is not the best way to enjoy a game. So, Mats joined a online match as soon as the upload was done. And because he was so good and addicted to this game, the new players couldn't have chance. And yet he played it all day long, literally, he still was undefeated. 

Until he challenged _konigblau_. 

"Wazzup" The astronaut voice came out Hummels TV. That one guy - or at least he thought was a guy - started to talk to him. He was not a very social person, but he felt mostly comfortable while playing videogames. So it was not that difficult to continue the conversation.  
"Oh, hello"  
"Let me guess: You're a Borussia player" That was not a hard guess. Mats' nickname on FIFA 15 was gelbeWand, "Yellow Wall".  
"For sure. And by guessing right, I think you know some words in german, right?"  
"Well, it's good to know your native language..."  
"Auf keinen Fall! Bist du Deutsche?"  
"Ja, ich bin Deutsche. But let me ask you a favor? I see you are a very good english speaker. Can we continue this conversation in english since I need practice?"  
"Oh, okay. Sure, sure. So, "Blue King", are you going to choose Schalke, won't you?  
"Of course.  
"Well, so we have a derby here. It will be fun"

The online matches at FIFA generally take 12 minutes, in two halves of 6. Both Hummels and his challenger were making the last changes in the starting squad, choosing the best players to both fit their strategies and counter their rival's. 

"Are you ready, konig?"  
"Wait a minute"  
"What?"  
"Motherfucking EA, don't know the best players in this team?"  
"I think they just check on the official squad or something"  
"BUT LOOK AT THIS! Huntelaar is not even at the bench. I need to drag him from down there to the starting team. Who the fuck put Klaas-Jan _outside_ the starting team?  
"Well, whatever. Are you ready to start?"  
"Okay, now I'm ready. Bring it on"

The first half was incredibly difficult for Hummels. He was not prepared for a guy playing so well with those... Schalke players. I mean, you just need to check out their stats. No one there could run as fast as Marco Reus or Pierre-Emerick. The goals chances were balanced, but the ball possession was almost a humiliation for Mats. He was way above the average FIFA players. He was even in Top100 players in Germany - and he couldn't remember any 'konigblau' up there -. But still, the Schalke player had 68% of ball possetion, and it was freaking Hummels out. Who was this guy? How could he play so well? 

"Can we go on, gelbeWand?"  
"Wait, it's my turn to make some changes" Hummels was actually trying to gain some time, to study his rivals strategies and to know him better "You are breaking me up."  
"Am I?"  
"Yeah. Are you a ranked player or whatever?"  
"Nah. I started playing online now. I mean, I play this game since I was eleven. FIFA 99, you know?"  
"The CLASSIC FIFA 99!" Hummels voice sounds childish, as the nostalgic feelings send him to the very day his parents brought that strange box home for Christmas.  
"Yes! It was the best game at his time."  
"Agreed. Nintendo 64 all the way."  
"Cool! So you had a 64 too?"  
"It was my first videogame."  
"It was my first videogame too!"  
"Well, I think both of us started with the prince of all videogames."  
"Yes! There are few games nowadays that can compete with the classics of that time."  
"I know. But hey, I'm ready now. Let's continue this match?"  
"Sure."

The second half was even harder than the first one. Hummels could not believe his eyes, seeing all that incredible plays by a Schalke player. He tried Aubameyang and Reus, but they were not capable of toring that defense apart. It seemed like konigblau had the perfect strategy to break the insanely fast attack from Borussia Dortmund and convert it into a stronger counter-attack. After three minutes of constant pressure, finally the first goal was scored.

"GOOOOOOOAAAAL! Fuck yeah, it was an amazing goal!" The awkward silence was filling the room (both of them, actually) "I'm sorry, gebenWald, but someone need to win"  
"I can't fucking believe a Schalke player are making this to me"  
"What? Are you saying you don't believe my team?"  
"I mean... the stats!"  
"The stats don't mean a thing. It's the skills behind the controller."

Hummels actually felt bothered with this comment.

"Okay. Let's play this shit"  
"I'm sorry...? I think I made y..."  
"Stop talking and let's play this"

Hummels thought he was a little bit harsch, but who the fuck cares? That guy was so wide with him, start a conversation and then doubting his skills at FIFA. And they weren't even friends! It was the first time at all they were playing together, and that konigblau was acting like this. Hummels didn't want to hear shit anymore, so he thrown the headphone away, and played all the rest of the second half in silence. 

The other three minutes were filled with boring shitty plays. It was like neither were playing their full potential. The truth is, things went awkward after that little argument. After the final whistle, at the score of Schalke 1 x 0 Borussia, Hummels jumped out his couch to turn off the videogame, listening only to a almost soundless - yet sad enough - "bye" coming out his headphones. 

But as he didn't care, he just whispered a "fuck you" and turned out his PS4.

\--

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" Benedikt was home alone - for a change - and he just fucked everything up. 

Benni was not a social guy. He had his friends, but they were so busy with their own matters, he almost never left his apartment. Instead, he spent the time not working to play videogames - and to talk with strange people online -. He was also a virtuoso piano player, despite he had no piano at home, because he needed to sell his to pay some debts. Also, his online-social life was not a wonder. And that day he met a guy who was very nice and intersting - even cheering up for Borussia Dortmund. 

But he had fucked it up. 

It was almost 8:00 p.m., but now Höwedes had no motivation at all to continue playing. He walked all the way to his bedroom, and jumped into his bed with the face turned down. He spent some time there. Then he turned his body up again and looked right into the ceiling, a whirlwind in his mind.

"Why the hell I can't forget the the talk with that Borussia guy?" he thought "Even if I close my eyes or play some music in my head... I still think about his voice. I'm even imagining his childhood, and how he got his 64! What the fuck are happening to me?"


	2. Two Lost Souls

The clock was ticking 11:00 a.m. when Höwedes woke up. It was okay because it was Sunday, but he knew his schedule would be fucked up. Then, he thought about gelbeWand. How this random online guy managed to influence his mind so hard? Benedikt was pretty sure he dreamed about him, but he could not remember. 

"Time to get up" he thought. He needed to make lunch, but there was nothing to eat at home. He looked into every corner in his kitchen, trying to find something hidden somewhere. But there was nothing indeed. Höwedes was a bit vain but wasn't in the mood, so he washed his hair on the sink, changed clothes, and was about to leave... But suddenly he stopped. The door was already open, but he stepped back and closed it. He went to his PS4 and turned it on. There was a yellow whirlwind in his mind, and he was unable to get rid of it. When the Home Screen finally lit up his TV, he went to the social area and clicked on the box where read "Find Player on PSN". He wrote "gelbeWand", but deleted it. Then he wrote it again. And deleted it. Finally, he wrote it again.

"Well, nothing wrong can happen" his mind was getting withered by that yellow hurricane "I mean, he could not accept my friendship request. He could ignore me. He could..." there was a thin line of sweat finding its way down Benne's forehead. And it was not because of the weather. Then he deleted the name. "But how can I know? I should give a try." In a second line of thought, paralel to the first one, he was thinking WHY THE HELL he was being so lame and childish to just send a friendship request to an online guy. But returning to the first one, which was a yellowish mess, he kept (over)thinking about rejection and shame. You know, it's not easy to shy guy to deal with these matters. Yeah, Benne was an okay guy, and indeed felt comfortable over the PSN Voice Chat, but that was not a common ground. When things turned up social wise, he was a fail. He tried to set his mind in a blank state, when the thoughts just move so fast that you get numb. And well, he got numb. 

And finally wrote "gelbeWand" on the little text box and hit "Send"

"Oh, fuck..." He woke up from his wake coma. Now there was no turning back. The invite is sent, he just need to wait. So he left the couch, passed throught the door (closing it afterwards) started walking to the market. Yes, Benedikt had a car, but it was almost 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, in a pretty Autumn day, and he loved to see the trees on that time of the year. When he was walking down the street, he managed to watch every single leaf that feel down. And he was hypnotized by those tiny little things just finding its way down. They had such unique movements, turning around themselves, and...

Suddenly, Höwedes got distracted by a yellow figure. A Borussia jersey, he figured. The guy was walking in the same direction, but in front of him. That way, he couldn't see his face, but still his mind gave that Borusse a personality. "Is he gelbeWand?". Then, Benne figured that he didn't ask where he lived. "Fuck. From now on" he thought "every single guy I see on yellow jerseys is a potential gelbeWand. I'm doomed". It is not a good thought when you are walking down the street to the market on a Sunday morning, you know? But well, Benedikt was thinking about that guy from FIFA since they played. And they played just once. When finally got to the market, his mind was not on the food he needed to buy, but on the guy he wanted to meet. That's how you level his priorities.

The time spent there was useless. I mean, he got all the food needed, but was unable to think about anything but his personal Yellow Wall. When Benne finally got home, the first thing he did was to check out his friendlist on PSN. No gelbeWand yet. So he decided to make lunch. But his mind was not down there with him, so he jumped some steps in the pasta's preparation, forgot what to do next, left the sauce burning and almost set fire to his own house. The final result was _eatable_ , but also determined that he was not mentally prepared to make dinner. A new check out, no gelbeWand. It was driving him crazy. 

\--

Hummels was looking to the TV screen, feeling a little confused. The friend request pop up was there, showing konigblau's name. And despite that guy being a troll, joking all over the game and stuff, he was one of the best players - if not the best player - he has played with. Most games Hummels joined were boring and unchallengeable, because he was so good at FIFA, that most players actually had no real chance against him. But konigblau was different. He _prooved_ it. He defeated Hummels using only Schalke players. Against his Borussia Dortmund. _The_ Borussia Dortmund. It would be a incredible non-sense, if it was not real. 

"Well, in the worst case scenario, I can mute him and everything is okay" he thought "In the best case, I have new friend who can actually play FIFA with me"

Hummels was never in that situation. Everytime he was capable of add people to his PSN's friendlist, he did it. Avoiding trolls and jokers, literally everyone was a good person to play online. But regardless all the cheering konigblau did, he was not a troll. He was a nice guy having his moments. But there was something undecipherable in their brief social online contact that made Hummels so cautious. And trying to understand what was driving him crazy.

\--

It was almost 01:00 a.m. and Höwedes was still playing. He left FIFA for while to adventure himself in games such as Final Fantasy XIII and Assassin's Creed II (a classic), but the intricate combat system of the first and the complex storytelling of the last were a wormhole to his peaceful state of mind. He decided to come back to his favorite game, but he was so upset that online matches were not viable. Then he started a campaign, managing his own Schalke 04. It was a dream job for him, because he could make the perfect squad. Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Marco Reus and Mario Götze were all Schalke players in his save file. And it was amazing, because it made him unbeatable. Unfortunately he could not import that squad for online matches, but it was also his ace. He mastered all the highs and lows in FIFA 15 Schalke's team that he was almost unbeatable with them too. And he was proud of it.

While playing a boring match against Bayern Munich in the campaign mode, Benne saw a smiley face pop up on the right side of the screen. And it made him freeze. Right to the smiley face, a known name was written: "gelbeWand". His heart skipped a beat. He never ever felt _that_ happy to see a confirmation of a friend's request. He pressed the PS button on his dual shock controller, pausing the game and going directly to the PSN's social area. There were two new messages for him. Benne quickly opened them, and started reading frantic.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I just saw your request now. It was a busy weekend" Höwedes was thinking it was okay, then he read the second message "I'm going to sleep now, do you want to play some games tomorrow?"

His head suddenly was smaller than his smile. He just wrote a "Okay, I'm up from 06:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Text me when you are up too. And thank you!"

"Wait" he thought "Why the fuck did I just sent a 'Thank You'?" but he was so happy he could not care less about it. And he just couldn't understand why he was feeling like this. But well, gelbeWand was on his PSN now, and he wanted to play some games. And neither of them knew at the time, but it was the beginning of a great story. They just needed to wait to see it grow.


	3. Blind Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After some arguments, Mats and Benni finally starts talking with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long time without updating. I got stucked with words, and also was planning some stuff outside the fanfiction sphere. That's not a long chapter, but since I'm practicing English even harder, I assume future updates will be longer and constant (:

When Benne got home from work, the first thing he did was to turn up his PS4. It was 05:46 p.m., fourteen minutes before the 'appointment' he had with gelbeWand. He went to the kitchen, took some snacks, and then back to his couch again. He was freaking nervous. He looked to his phone: 05:47 p.m. yet. "Okay" he thought "Let me play something stupid just to spend time" and then went to his Download Library. There were an incredibly huge amount of games, some of them never played. So he just went scrolling the list to see something interesting there. Magicka and Towerfall were great games, but single-playing them was shit. Maybe gelbe had them too, so they could multiplayer.

Benne looked to the phone again. 05:48 p.m. He kept scrolling. Final Fantasy XIII were there. He looked to the instant wallpaper that appeared after selecting a game, and there was Lightning. The super-heroine, also the main character from FF XIII, was the example of badass. Her sword, her clothes - not the regular sexist japanese RPG stuff, but something classy, strong and roguelike - and her objectives were kinda inspirational for Benne. He joked "I wanna be exactly like Lightning when I grow up", but there was a sincere feeling of respect and reverence in that. He actually feels weird to have such a odd relationship with a videogame character, but that is something he just can't avoid. The phone, however, was pointing 05:50.

"WHAT? Why the time is moving so slowly?" he cursed, then scrolled a bit more, just to find Dark Souls. Another japanese creation, considered the hardest game nowadays. "Let's give it a try", since that was one of his virgin games. He spent some time customizing his character. It was his favorite part in most games. He always tried to make a virtual celebrity look alike, and had a collection of save files just with his creations. After time enough to make a dark fantasy medieval Al Pacino, he started playing. Some steps further, a undead guy killed him after two hits. "Okay, let's try again". Same guy, same result. "Fucker!". One more time he tried, one more time he was killed. "What's wrong with this game?" He checked the menu after the difficulty level, but there was none. He looked to the phone again, and it was still five to six.

"Fuck it, I'll do something" he went to the kitchen again, filled a cup with soda, walked around the room three or four times, then get back to the couch. No notifications from PSN. The clock was pointing 06:00 p.m. already. "Well, why I am expecting him to get here on time? He may be busy..." then he went to his bedroom and changed clothes to something comfortable. It was a bit cold inside his house, despite the heating, then he wore two layers of socks, then checked in his wardrobe for a warm shirt. He got his Schalke's 13/14 long sleeves jersey, and went back to his couch. Now, for his surprise, there was two unread messages popping up the screen. He ran to reach the controller, and then clicked on then.

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm a little late" the clock was pointing 06:03 p.m. The other message reads "I got stuck in traffic. Do you wanna play now?"

Benedikt answered by logging on FIFA and sending him an online match invite, that was incredibly fast answered. Then they started the PSN Voice Chat conversation.

"Hello, dude!" gelbeWand's voice went off crystal clear from Benne's home theater set up.  
"Hey! I'm glad you are here to play!"  
"Yeah, me too. Man, this traffic in Dortmund is getting shitty everyday."  
"Really? I didn't know there was traffic here"  
"What? There's traffic everywhere."  
"Hahaha I know."

A wild awkward silence appears.

"So..." Benne broke the ice "Let's play some FIFA?"  
"Sure. A classic one versus one match?"  
"Yeah. The derby again. It's your revenge"  
"Reve... what? No, I'm not that kind of guy. Let's say... it's a best of three."  
"Bo3, right! Schalke vs. Borussia. It'll be fun."

The squads entered the pitch, but the conversation now was more soft and competition-free. They were just chilling out playing their favorite game and talking to each other.

"Dude, I'm really tired today" - Mats voice was tired indeed  
"Because of the traffic?"  
"I don't know. The day was just pretty fucked up"  
"Well, a friend of mine always said a bad day can be turned into a good day just by drinking a beer and playing some FIFA"  
"Wise words, indeed"  
"I don't know if he's wise enough... but I do agree FIFA can make things good"

Their conversation went on, and their Bo3 became a Bo5. Then a Bo7. And finally a Bo9. With an awesome hat trick by Reus, gelbeWand ended the game scoring 3x2 against konigblau's Schalke.

"FUCK, DUDE!" konigblau's curse became a laugh as he accepted Reus' third goal against his squad, by 90 minutes.  
"Don't mess up with the blondie guy"  
"I just... his stats are just ridiculous!"  
"I know. And I'm glad he plays for Borussia"  
"I would be glad if he got deleted from the game" gelbeWand's laughs were heard even before the end of the sentence "What the fuck are you laughing at?"  
"You're raging! And well, delete some character from the game is a hardcore solution"  
"Fuck it, he just breaks the balancement"  
"Talking about balancemente, I really need to go now. There are lots of things I need to do before got to sleep"  
"Oh, that's okay dude. So, g'nite"  
"G'nite... but hey, konig..."  
"Say it"  
"I just figured out, I..."  
"You don't know my name?"  
"Yes"  
"It's Benedikt. But well, you can call me Benni. All my friends call me that way..."  
"Mats"  
"Mats? Is that your name?"  
"Yeah... you got a problem with it?"  
"No, it's just... short. Shorter than most names"  
"I know. I don't know why my parents choose that name. I think it pleases meine mutter"  
"Fair enough. Well, good nite then, Mats"  
"See ya, Benni"

____________________________________________________________________________________________

When the voice chat turned off, Mats was smiling ear to ear. He didn't knew exactly why, but it was good to have someone like Benni. They talked about lots of things, and it made Mats feel like he knew Benni for a long time. He discovered Benni was into folk bands and action movies, and they talked about every Bruce Willis movie, since he was a god for both of them. They talked a little about books, and a lot about their childhood and their roots in FIFA. Both of them tried to play football, but actually the got dismissed by their teams because they were not too involved in training schedule. It was the most impressive thing they had in common, since some of their U13 friends became professional players, like Manuel Neuer and Marco Reus - Actually, that's why Mats was always playing with Reus.

But since Mats started thinking about everything they talked that night, some words from Benne got stucked in his mind 

"All my friends call me that way"

"They knew each other from, well, three days, and that was the fastest friendship Mats - always a reserved guy - has developed. And he was so proud of him, and even prouder of getting such a good friend in the process, he couldn't even describe his happiness. And, well, because that happiness was a little different, too. But at the time, he couldn't know why.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

"HE. LOVES. BRUCE. WILLIS!"

That blew Benni's mind. Bruce was his idol since the childhood. Every movie Bruce touched his hand became a pearl. Even the bad one, just by having him in the cast, was magically turned into Oscar-Winning movies. And Benni was just so excited by the fact Mats was a Bruce fan, he couldn't even tell it in words. They talked about Die Hard (Benni's favorite) and Sixth Sense (Mats favorite), and they knew every detail in the movies, and every detail in Bruce's role... well, Benni was amazed.

But actually, he was happier just to talk with Mats. He felt relieved. Mats' voice, Mats' words... he felt hugged by them, and it was incredible because, since he was home alone, its warmth was so cozy. He started fantasizing about both of them playing actual football in a small pitch, and making goals and assists for each other...

Even if it was almost impossible, Benni let himself daydream about his new friend. And yes, friend. Since most of his other "friends" were incapable of talking with him for two consecutive days, he became isolated. But now, with Mats in his life, he felt a upcoming change of seasons. And Mats was leading it.


	4. Around the Corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benni and Mats are getting closer and closer... until an unexpected invitation turns Benni's mind upside down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm back here after a while. It became a little messy to write recently, but I think I got my shit together and I won't be late for the next chapters. 
> 
> And C'MON guys, write more Hömmels stuff! There are a lot of p e o p l e wanting to read about this ship! (:

After two weeks, they were talking like they have met ten years ago. Benni knew (almost) everything about Mats' peculiar taste for movies, and they talked about it a lot. Playing videogames wasn't their only way to communicate anymore, and their texts were a way to never let go of each other. 

One day, after work, Benni was texting Mats just to let him know the music playing on the radio at the moment was an amazing tune he have never heard before. Mats replied, asking for the lyrics, and when Benni send it to him, he replied again in no time "THAT'S MY FAVORITE BAND!". Benni smiled, happy to know he reached Mats' soft spot, and when he looked to his cellphone again, he read the message displayed on it and his heart skipped a beat.

"They r playing in Bochum on friday. Do u wanna go? :)"

So Mats was asking him out. To a concert. Together. 

"Sure..." he started typing on his cellphone, but stopped right away. He was not sure if he wanted to go out with Mats. Actually, he wasn't sure of many things at the moment. But mostly he wasn't sure about go to a concert with a guy he met a couple of weeks before and have never ever looked into his face. It was just... weird. He was thinking about many different (worst case) scenarios when his cellphone beeped again.

"Cmon I know u r NOT busy on friday!"  
Sure"

"Fuuuuck" Benni thought almost immediately after sending his text. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck I'm fucked". He was regretting his birth to continue this conversation while driving home. Okay, there was traffic, but he was driving and now his mind was drowning in a pool of anxiety. He was trying to keep his head above the water but he was failing constantly. When the cellphone beeped again, he grabbed it so fast he felt like a supersonic super hero or shit. After three attempts to unlock the screen, he finally reached the brand new Mats' message.

"Nice! I'm buying our tickets online tday and now u owe me some beers k?"

Mats was buying his ticket. "Our tickets" as he wrote down. Benni could not hold the smile that suddenly appeared on his face, and he started looking around to the people in their cars, checking if it was a malfunction on a underground tube that spread laughing gas through the block. But no one was smiling so hard as him. So he concluded he was just so fucking happy to arrange a 'date' with that incredible, awesome and funny guy from Dortmund.

"Deal. I meet u in Bochum on friday"  
"Right.. so let's play some games tday? I JUST dwnloaded The Crew that racing game u know? Do u wanna b my co pilot?"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WENT OFF ROAD!" - Benni was laughing so, so hard his belly was aching "How can you be SO bad at this game?"  
"I'm not a racing gamer, okay? I'm doing my best here"  
"If it's your best, I don't wanna see your worst"  
"But be sure you will..."

Mats actually said his last words with a certain voice tone that Benni felt the sexual tension in the sound waves. It led him to mumble indistinctly something about salads and potatos.

"Pay attention to game, Ben, you are getting worse than me!"  
"No... I was-a... I... I know what I'm doing!"  
"Yeah I can figure"  
"Word. It's just some strategic play"  
"There is strategic play on a racing game?"  
"From now on, yes"

They kept playing for a couple of hours, and them it was time to call it night. But before logging of PSN, Benni called Mats for one more question

"About the concert... why you invited me? I mean... I'm not complaining, it's just I don't even know the band!"  
"Oh... didn't you like it?"  
"No, that's not it. I'm not complaining. It's just... I will be such a bad company"  
"It's literally impossible! Even if you don't know any musics or lyrics, we can still talk about a world of things"  
"It's true" Benni was clearly blushing "But... won't you feel umcofortable with someone not enjoying the concert of you favorite band as hard as you?"  
"Nah... and well, you can still get into the band 'till Friday. I'll text you some tunes, you just have to look up into Spotify"  
"Yeah, I think it's a good idea"  
"It is indeed. And I already bought the tickets. Don't you dare step back now"  
"I will not, trust me"  
"Also, you owe me couple beers now. I'll get this debt paid no matter what. I'll go to Gelsen-fucking-kirchen if it is needed, just to get my beers"  
"Ha, you're fucking crazy"  
"Man, you don't mess with my beers. You just don't"  
"I'm affraid now! I swear I will not mess with you or your beers"  
"Right" Mats gave a soft and warm laugh "It was just a crazy talk"  
"We are kinda crazy and we were talking. That's what comes"  
"Maybe. But, we are not the bad type of crazy, are we?"  
"I don't know. Maybe you're not, but... I can't tell it for me"  
"Ooh... so I'm going to meet a psycho at the concert?"  
"Maybe or maybe not. It depends on you"

Benni was already regretting his words, but...

"So it depends on me? I think I like this game"  
"Do you? It's my favorite too"  
"So... at the concert, right?   
"At the concert"  
"Well, it's on Friday. It's just around the corner"  
"Yeah"  
"I don't know if I'm going to play until Friday, so..."  
"Oh, but are you going to take the week offline?"  
"Nah, you can text me anytime. I'm just busy on work and stuff"

Mats' voice saying "you can text me anytime" got stucked into Benni's head. On a loop.

"Okay" Benni said with his most soft and cozy voice "So I'll keep texting you. Don't you get tired of me"  
"Again, it's literally impossible"

They both laugh while saying 'goodnight' for each other and disconnect from PSN. 

"Friday is just around the corner" Benni thought. "Just around the corner".


End file.
